It is restricted to stream and river courses throughout Oregon’s valley floors and foothills, where it can grow as extensive stands. Today we know that the bark contains salicin, which is very similar in structure to aspirin. Native Americans used the bark for treating all kinds of ailments, such as wounds and rheumatism. The black cottonwood’s lightweight and strong for its weight, so it is used for plywood and high-quality book and magazine paper. If used to enhance wildlife habitat, the bitter cherry should be protected from browsing animals for at least three years after planting. Birds and small mammals will eat the fruits, but humans can get sick from them as they are, as their name indicates, quite bitter.įor optimal results, bitter cherry should be propagated from seed, but can also be propagated from softwood stem or root cuttings. Grows on moist, sunny sites throughout much of Oregon it is adaptable to a wide range of temperatures and precipitation.ĭense thickets of bitter cherry provide important cover for wildlife and roosting sites. Flowers are highly fragrant, and the smooth bark is dark brown to red with small gray interrupted bands. Leaves are oblong to oval with small teeth and rounded tips. The bitter cherry is a medium deciduous tree that grows up to 50 feet tall. In Oregon, the bitter cherry tree is often found in ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests. Parts of the bitter cherry tree were used for poultices and bark infusions by Native Americans.īitter cherry occurs in a variety of habitats, from mountain brush to woodland and riparian areas. Often more of a shrub than a tree, bitter cherry creates beautiful red fruits that look delicious but taste awful. The clumps need to be thinned to the one good stem if maple sawlogs are the goal. Bigleaf maple is a vigorous stump sprouter, and often forms multiple stem sprout clumps after a tree is cut. Under intensive management, rotations of 50 years or less can be used. Other delicious plants are found nearby, including salmonberries and swordfern. Many animals take advantage of living in or near the maple for its highly palatable leaves, good seed production and nesting possibilities. The bigleaf maple can grow in a wide range of temperatures and moisture, from moist and cool coastal regions to areas with dry, warm seasons. The bigleaf maple is a medium to large, shade-tolerant broadleaf tree up to 120 feet tall. Bigleaf maple can form pure stands but are usually found in riparian hardwood forests or mixed with evergreens or oaks. It is widely distributed throughout western Oregon and is capable of growing on a wide variety of sites and soils, and regenerating in the shade of other species. It produces a unique yet equally delicious condiment. The sap of the bigleaf maple can be used for maple syrup production, though not commercially. The wood of the maple is used for furniture, cabinets and flooring, among other products. The bigleaf maple has the largest leaves of all the maples, hence the name. The species is hardy to at least -4☏, but growth and survival are poor in high rainfall areas, so planting should be confined to warmer areas with moderate annual rainfall. However, native species of shrubs and trees should be removed to reduce competition and improve growing conditions. Its needles are blue-green in color, about 1 inch long with a white color underneath.Īt use in landscaping and urban settings, its understory is often determined by design. Male cones are 2 to 3 inches and form on the lower part of tree, with larger purple female cones developing on top branches. The Atlas cedar lives long and requires a lot of space to develop freely, growing 40 to 60 feet high with a 30- to 40-foot spread. Pyramidal in its youth, it becomes massive with horizontal, spreading branches. This distinctive evergreen has silver blue-green needles. It is typically cultivated as an ornamental tree in temperate climates of Oregon because it is more tolerant of dry and hot conditions than most conifers. As the common name indicates, this tree is native to the Atlas Mountains of North Africa and is one of our few representatives from that continent.

Types of maple trees in oregon